STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sellers, buyers and all other eBay users are urged to change their passwords because a cyberattack compromised the website's user database and that could make them easy targets for identify thieves.

While eBay believes that accounts are secure because passwords were encrypted, they don't want their 145 million active users taking any chances.

"We take security on eBay very seriously, and we want to ensure that you feel safe and secure buying and selling on eBay," said Devin Wenig, president of eBay Marketplaces, in a statement on the eBay website. " So we think it's the right thing to do to have you change your password."

The on-line marketplace advises customers to use a different password for every site where they have an account or membership and to change any duplicate passwords on those sites.

The San Jose, Calif., company plans to introduce new security features in the near future although eBay claims there is no evidence that any financial or credit card information was stolen.

Cyberattackers hacked into the system sometime between late February and early March but their crimes weren't detected until early May. Hackers stole a small number of employee log-in credentials that gave access to eBay's corporate network, the company said.

Information on PayPal, which is owned by eBay, wasn't compromised, eBay claims.

Hackers had access to dBay customer names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth-- but not to financial or other credit card information, social security, taxpayer or national identification numbers.

"We believe we have shut down unauthorized access to our site and have put additional measures in place to enhance our security," the eBay web site said.